To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2025. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region.
When vultures are flying together, the correct term for the group of birds is a kettle. When that group is roosting in trees, it is called a committee. If the scavengers are feeding together, they are called a wake. And for some residents in Hillsborough, a group of vultures regularly around West Queen Street have developed into a problem for their quality of life. A dispute between neighbors over one person attracting the birds to his property developed into a broader discussion in Orange County about wildlife ordinances and enforcement.
Ken Ostrand knows dozens of facts about vultures. A historian by trade, he is adept at researching and remembering different details about all kinds of topics. He says he took up an interest in the carnivorous scavengers after he and his wife Linda moved to West Queen Street in Hillsborough and frequently saw the birds at their house.
“They really were here before we came,” Ostrand told Chapelboro in January, saying they inherited the black vultures from the prior homeowner. “And then if you look at them, you’ll see how interesting they are. You start reading a little bit and you see that they eat the carrion…they take care of all this bacteria because of the very corrosive stomach acids they have. And as we got to look at them and learn a little bit about them, we saw that they are a very beneficial species.
“I hate to see people dividing us between big birds and little birds, good birds and bad birds,” Ostrand added. “I mean, what’s next? The cats and the dogs?”
That division — and the impetus for the interview — references neighbor complaints filed against the Ostrands for their habit of not only interacting with the black vultures around their property, but attracting them. Ostrand said there are a pair of birds whom he and Linda have nicknamed Morticia and Chester that they regularly feed food scraps, deli meats and other treats to. He cited injuries to both vultures as limiting their ability to scavenge for food themselves. But the routine, and prior feeding of additional vultures, led to large committees gathering near West Queen Street and other homes besides the Ostrands.
An undated photo submitted by Michael Beanland to the Town of Hillsborough to illustrate the amount of vultures that can come to West Queen Street, saying it is because his neighbor feeds them. (Photo via Michael Beanland.)
Michael Beanland is one of those residents, who approached the Town of Hillsborough in January and contended that months of requests for Ken Ostrand to stop deliberately attracting the vultures went ignored. He described dealing with roof damage from roosting vultures, feces and urine covering his driveway, and bones or trash from the birds’ meals ending up in his yard where his two young children and dog would play.
“Little meat trays, the supermarket trays that you get,” Beanland described to the town board, “we often find those in our yard as the birds eat the meat from next door, bring them into our yard and leave the trays throughout the yard. Our dog will come back with bones from the yard — bones from, like, a t-bone steak [and] chicken bones.”
Hillsborough’s town commissioners largely echoed Beanland’s concerns, with some even sharing their own stories of seeing Ostrand attracting the vultures. Mayor Mark Bell called the situation “untenable,” while Commissioner Kathleen Ferguson said she is open to contacting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get their advice and push for a solution.
“It’s one thing [to be feeding] backyard birds, but…for all of the animals, it’s harmful for [them], it’s harmful for the interactions,” Ferguson said. “I hate hearing that you’re having this issue. When I’m out in the country, I love the vultures…they serve a great purpose. But what you’re living with, [Michael Beanland,] no one should.”
The story captured the attention of many community members, becoming one of the more popular small-talk stories around Orange County. The dilemma inspired additional news coverage, columns promoting vultures’ benefits, poetry, and even t-shirt designs. People sympathized with the Beanlands and other neighbors, while also expressing interest and fascination with the birds.
Ultimately, the Board of Commissioners unanimously passed an update to its Regulation and Control of Animals ordinance during its Feb. 10 meeting. Bell described the changes to 97.9 The Hill as “not complicated,” and made to address a variety of long-standing concerns from town residents about wildlife getting food in unnatural ways and potentially causing harm. Wildlife that do not cause any common nuisances, like songbirds and bees, are shared as exceptions to the rule — but directly feeding vultures within town limits is not allowed.
“There’s a short list of things that you can’t do,” the mayor said, “and then there’s a small section of things that is still okay – to feed small birds…and put up feeders [for them]. Things like that.”
Black vultures, like the one shown here and those around the Ostrands’ yard, are among the species protected in the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act first passed in 1918, which aimed to limit the killing, capture, or sale of certain birds. As a result, hunting or injuring the vultures is strictly prohibited. (Photo via Norman Welsh/FOAR/Friends of Anahuac Refuge.)
At the time of the February update, Ostrand indicated he was ready for attention to shift from the vultures to other town needs — and said he had scaled back his feeding of the vultures. But he also indicated the change would not entirely dissuade him from attracting the birds with food or water. Ostrand told Chapelboro he will let Hillsborough’s staff and law enforcement be responsible for sorting out how to stop people from feeding the wildlife listed in the new ordinance.
“If they want to send the police out, handcuff me, take me down with a scarlet letter, they can certainly do that,” he said. “But they’d have to get up pretty early in the morning or late at night.
“I think, more likely, everybody will just ignore this and the neighbor will just calm down when the birds fly out for the spring,” Ostrand concluded.
But the issue has not gone away. While town officials confirmed there has been no further changes to the ordinance or official discussion by the town board of the vultures since February, residents have continued to report more, similar problems resulting from the birds’ presence. The complex and layered questions persist. What difference can a town measure, largely based on voluntary compliance and using only minor fines, truly make? What can be done to deter the birds without causing any harm to the federally-protected species? If no changes are made, what is the next surprise to be dropped or left by the vultures in nearby yards or around town?
Answers to these questions will likely have to wait until 2026 and it remains to be seen whether any kind of resolution will come home to roost.
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